The present methods and systems are generally related to methods and systems for communicating information. The present methods and systems are more particularly related to methods and systems for communicating travel-related information.
Travelers deal with traffic and weather conditions every day. Those travelers who are forced to use (or who are unfortunate or uninformed enough to choose) relatively congested routes, or routes experiencing adverse weather conditions, can be subject to excessive travel time. Local radio and television stations attempt to relieve this problem by broadcasting reports. Television reports can provide traffic and weather information, but typically cannot be accessed while a traveler is in transit. Radio reports can broadcast traffic information accessible while the traveler is in transit, however such reports often cover the entire listening area of a station. As a result, the information related to the specific location of a traveler can be interspersed with a great deal of useless information, or omitted altogether. Also, both radio and television reports are typically broadcast only at certain time intervals. Often, by the time information relevant to the situation of the traveler is received, the traveler is already committed to a route of travel.
The advent of the mobile telephone spawned new attempts to solve traveler-related problems. There are some existing methods and systems that can alert the traveler of traffic congestion via a mobile telephone. Like television and radio reports, however, these alerts typically provide the traveler with more information than is required and are not typically available on demand. Other existing methods and systems allow the traveler to access traffic data relating to a route of travel through a menu prompt. These methods and systems can be cumbersome and dangerous, however, as they may require the traveler to navigate numerous menus and buttons while driving.
What are needed are methods and systems that can provide in real-time or near real-time traffic and weather information related to a location of interest to a traveler.